The importance of properly “stopping” or providing a resealable stopper for opened bottles, such as wine bottles, is well known. Contact with air is the primary cause of wine spoilage. In particular, oxygen enables organisms to grow on the surface of the wine which may produce undesirable flavors and aromas. Further, oxygen may also trigger chemical reactions that lead to flavor losses and color changes in the wine.
A number of bottle stoppers are known. Bottle stoppers that provide for an airtight seal for contents within a bottle usually need to be removed before pouring the contents from the bottle. This causes a hindrance for many individuals, especially bartenders, servers, and others who repeatedly pour from bottles because they must remove the bottle stopper each time they pour the contents from the bottle. Besides pulling the stopper out of the bottle, they must set it aside in a sanitary place, and then re-insert the stopper in order to once again preserve the contents. All of these extra steps require additional time, and there is a risk of contamination of both the stopper and the contents within the bottle. Bartenders often have limited time and handling a bottle stopper that needs to be completely removed wastes time.
When pouring from an open wine bottle, the presentation of the bottle and subsequent pouring of the wine must be aesthetically pleasing, especially in a formal setting. This means the flow from the bottle should be smooth and even, and the contents of the bottle should not spill or drip down the side of the bottle. Without aid, it is difficult to pour the contents of the bottle without dripping any portion thereof on the surface below, such as a white tablecloth. At a finer restaurant, and with red wine, this would be extremely undesirable. Some servers often rotate the bottle as they pour in an attempt to keep the contents from dripping. Further, other servers often use a white handkerchief to prevent the contents from dripping on the surface below. The manual method is ineffective to stop dripping, and the use of a new white handkerchief requires regular cleaning, regular replacement, and thus extra cost and time.
Additionally, after an original cork is removed from a bottle, for example, such as a wine bottle, pieces of the cork remain within the bottle. Then, when the wine is poured from the bottle, cork pieces may also be dispersed. Other times, there is sediment inside a wine or other bottle. These situations are unappetizing to wine drinkers and also interfere with the distinct aromas and tastes that accompany each specific wine.
A need therefore exists for an improved reusable bottle stopper that can be economically fabricated and that provides one or more of the foregoing features.